2014-15 TV Rankings: 'Wisteria Lane' Leads ABC to Victory
Written By: Sally Smith May 28, 2015 This list includes the full average of any show that aired at least three episodes on Thursday. Nielsen is counting Thursday as a separate list again this year, due to the massive ratings. Breakout legend Wisteria Lane held a comfortable victory, outpacing #2 Revenge by 20%. Nashville sat at the bottom of the top three, maintaining its lead over #1 comedy Two and a Half Men ''by 23%. Rounding out the top five was midseason newbie ''Central Perk, which was only 2% shy of its veteran megahit lead-in. Overall, ABC's shows spanned from first to last, CBS's shows spanned from fourth to fourteenth, FOX's shows spanned from sixth to thirteenth, and NBC's shows spanned from seventh to sixteenth. Key # ''– The program's rank among all Thursday shows. ''Net – The broadcast network the program aired on. Program – The title of the television program. 18-49 – The program's weighted seasonal average among adults 18-49. High – The program's highest adults 18-49 rating of the season. Low – The program's lowest adults 18-49 rating of the season. Label (Score) – The program's label; based on the relationship of the program's adults 18-49 average and the season's adults 18-49 average of all Thursday programming (8.41 this season). For example, if a program has a 234 score, that means its seasonal average was 2.34 times the Thursday programming average. Note: Programs with scores equal to or higher than 200 are not included in the Thursday programming average, so as not to heavily inflate the average. This is the rubric for labeling scores: *'Legend': 300+ *'Powerhouse': 250-299 *'Icon': 200-249 *'Megahit': 150-199 *'Big Hit': 125-149 *'Hit': 115-124 *'Solid': 100-114 *'Marginal': 75-99 *'Flop': 50-74 *'Debacle': 0-49 Y2Y – The program's percentage difference from its 2013-14 seasonal average to its 2014-15 seasonal average. ---- 2014-15 Season L+SD Thursday Adults 18-49 Network Rankings Anchored by the strongest freshman show ever to enter the television landscape (Wisteria Lane), ABC was a dominative first, more than doubling its closest competition (23.0 vs. 10.1). Anchored by their only Thursday hit (Chicago Fire), NBC claimbed the silver, edging out its nearest competition by a mere five tenths. Anchored by veteran comedy megahit Two and a Half Men, CBS snagged the bronze from its closest competition by only six tenths. Anchored by a growing The X Factor, FOX ended up at the bottom, just six tenths away from CBS. ABC was a powerful number one last year with Grey's Anatomy, and it held onto that rating this season, despite a 27% year-to-year drop. NBC was a distant third last year, but this season's whooping 66% year-to-year jump helped it snag second place. CBS held a strong second last year, but it got knocked to third this season, despite a 26% year-to-year gain. That just shows how powerful NBC has become this year. 'FOX '''landed at the bottom last season, and the same happened this year, despite an enormous 53% year-to-year ''jump.